Blogo-links

“To make the individual’s obligation to obey . . . a law contingent upon the law’s coincidence with his religious beliefs” would have the effect, Scalia explains, of “permitting him, by virtue of his beliefs, ‘to become a law unto himself.’” And if that were allowed, there would no longer be a single law — universally conceived and applied — but multiple laws each of which was tailored to the doctrines and commands of a particular faith. In order to have law in the strong sense, Scalia is saying, you can have only one. (“No man can serve two masters.”)

This is the second paragraph of Fish’s post, referring to a case of « ingestion of peyote at a Native American religious ceremony » 😉

A Final Thought: Keeping Up With the Salzbergs. Even more fundamentally than its challenge to Myriad’s gene patents or to the FDA’s preparedness for a future in which whole-genome sequencing exists alongside do-it-yourself personalized medicine, the Salzberg Screen is a reminder of the Herculean task lawmakers, policymakers and regulators face in attempting to keep up with the pace of scientific and technological innovation in the fields of genomics and personalized medicine.

Whatever we think of Salzberg’s Screen and his aggressive challenge to the status quo of gene patents and federally regulated access to genetic testing, we must applaud the work that Salzberg and others do to continually push forward both the science and the application of genomics and personalized medicine. It’s doubtful that the Salzberg Screen will effectively undermine Myriad’s patents or cause the FDA to wholeheartedly embrace DIY genomics, at least in the short term. But by forcing all of us to think more concretely about such possibilities, Salzberg is spurring valuable discourse and forcing lawmakers, policymakers, regulators and businessmen to respond. We hope that the response, when it comes, will include a recognition that even if we cannot keep up with the Salzbergs—those bent on innovation, no matter how much it strains our current structures—we can do much more, now, to anticipate where they are leading us.